Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Composed by David Arnold

Love the fact that David Arnold is back on the fantasy adventure scene. Not so juiced about the patience required to fully enjoy his Narnia score, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. On the surface, what appeared to be a can't-miss scenario is bogged down by an ample amount of tender underscore that left me scratching my head. Why wasn't the running time trimmed and was I the only one who failed to see the so-called subtle brilliance of this approach? What ultimately should have been a 50 minute dynamo of a score is pushed beyond its limits past the 70 minute mark, at which point things get dicey. On the one hand, the album's highlights are brilliant and reminded me of the Arnold glory days but the tedious nature of all other matters pushed me to the brink of impatience. This one lands in the B-range but is just one edit away from being promoted a full letter grade. Oh, and one other thing -- Into Battle is indeed the epic track that everyone is making it out to be.

Manhater
By Greg Stitt

Everyone once in a while I'll see a project passed along to me of a more independent nature for consideration on ScoreNotes. Manhater was one such project, where the actual producer of the film, Phil Calderone, set out to promote the good work of his composer, Greg Stitt, who was chosen from a pool of over 100 other candidates for the film. Well, I'm glad Mr. Calderone is appreciative of Greg's efforts because Manhater is the type of resourceful, independent score that is refreshing to get ahold of. No extravagant budgets, politics, or templates here; it's simply an appealing horror score composed by someone who is working hard in the trenches to create something memorable. From impressive piano motifs to notes representing a more sinister attitude, you'll do well to find out more about this well-rounded score from Stitt, who is no doubt another new talent to keep tabs on.

Jackboots on Whitehall
Composed by Guy Michelmore

Jackboots on Whitehall is not a film release that I expect many of you are aware of. What you should take note of, however, is the rousing score that Guy Michelmore has crafted for this quirky film because it's off the charts. In fact, it's one of the year's best soundtrack experiences for my money. The film itself spins a satirical, alternative take on the history of World War II and it offered Guy a prime opportunity to develop a score with both bravado and humor to back it up. Channeling a skill set that has propelled the music of Marvel Animation to great heights, Guy's score for Jackboots has an unyielding energy that swept me up in all the best ways a soundtrack can. It offers regal marches, scottish medleys, comedic accents and enough robust action music to entertain the listener without a hitch. The only constraint is that the running time could have been scaled back by ten to fifteen minutes (the middle portion of the soundtrack features a bit too much of the underscore). Aside from that, this is an awesome experience and surely ranks up there as one of MovieScore Media's finest offerings to date. Don't miss out.

Unstoppable
Harry Gregson-Williams

Harry Gregson-Williams has established a bit of a pattern when it comes to scoring the films of Tony Scott. Unfortunately for fans of the composer, this pattern has not yielded his finer works. In Unstoppable, there is a bit more hope to latch onto as this is one of Harry's stronger efforts for Tony, primarily due to a stronger focus on the thematic components. More specifically, there is a subtle but heartfelt motif that can be heard at differing junctures in Unstoppable, first heard in the second track entitled, Frank Barnes. The use of this melody, along with accessible segments of orchestral offerings, makes this a hybrid score that is easy on the ears and marks an improvement on Harry's modern/action movie ventures (e.g., Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3). Also, it's great to see La La Land Records becoming involved with releasing soundtracks for new, higher profile movies in addition to their excellent pool of specialty soundtracks. I'm a big fan of the production value associated with their releases (art, liner notes, track flow) so hopefully this trend of releasing soundtracks for new mainstream films will continue. In this case, Unstoppable is a worthwhile soundtrack release so you'd do well to check it out in a pinch.

The Deathly Hallows
Composed by Alexandre Desplat

The Deathly Hallows is a soundtrack that has seemingly divided the soundtrack community, a classic love/hate situation. At the risk of sounding dull, I fall in the middle of the two extremes and feel that Alexandre Desplat's take on the latest Harry Potter film is sturdy and effective but fails to reach its potential. Ironically, it;s the action-oriented material that serves as the highlight from this score, offering a type of boldness that's not usually heard in Desplat's work. Thematically, there are motifs abound but none that capture the imagination heartily enough. Had there been a main theme with the type of emotion that Desplat generated with Twilight: New Moon, then we would have been in business and the musical prophecy of post-Williams Potter would finally have been fulfilled.

127 Hours
Various Artists/A.R. Rahman

Danny Boyle's preference for mixing score and song is re-stated with the soundtrack for 127 Hours, a listening experience that takes on a whole different feeling when heard in the context of the film. On its own, it's just a bit too jumpy for my tastes, courtesy of the various songs that make their way onto the presentation. I'll handicap this as a soundtrack that will come to life a bit more after the viewer has had a chance to see the emotional punch that is represented in the movie.
A.R. Rahman's score material is quite respectable and offers about 5 to 10 minutes of music (Liberation, for example) that really stands apart from the majority of the album. In all, this is no Slumdog (nor should it be) and it's also not an album you should rush out to buy score unheard. See the film, hear the cues, then make the call.